The world's needs for animal-derived protein products (such as fish meal, soymeal and peanut meal) in animal feed and aquaculture applications are growing rapidly. The needs for fish meal are outstripping the ocean's ability to regenerate the forage fish that are harvested to manufacture fish meal. Precipitous and unsustainable decline in ocean fish stocks put strain on aquaculture and poultry culture. Vegetal sources of proteins, such as soy meal and peanut meal, are also in limited supply because they are costly to produce and also because they are usable as human food. Growing vegetal biomass (such as soy and peanuts) for the purpose of feeding livestock is not sustainable when these materials can be used to feed humans directly.
Insect-based biomass can be utilized in animal feeds as a substitute for animal-derived proteins (such as the proteins in fish meal) or plant-derived proteins (such as the proteins in soy meal or peanut meal). One possible approach for insect rearing is to utilize pre- and post-consumer food waste and other biological wastes as feedstock. Cultured invertebrates, such as earthworms, meal worms, shrimps, prawns or crayfish, crickets and fly larvae, that can be used to feed humans or animals, or to make fertilizers, can be fed with food waste and other biological wastes or derivatives of food waste and other biological wastes.
According to the United Stated Environmental Protection Agency, using food waste and other biological wastes to feed invertebrates is classified as an industrial use and is preferable to composting or landfilling (http://www.epa.gov/foodrecovery/, last visited Jul. 2, 2015). However, the collection, transportation and storage of unprocessed food waste before it is fed to invertebrates can lead to many problems. These problems include fast rates of putrefaction of the food waste, the release of decaying liquids and odors, the propagation or multiplication of food-borne pathogens, the production of food-borne toxins hazardous to humans and livestock, the production of toxins that are toxic for microorganisms and the attraction of vermin.
If there is an asymmetry between supply and demand, excess food waste becomes a health hazard and must be landfilled, composted or burned, all of which are inferior as uses to the industrial generation of animal feed products. Hence, decaying biological waste (which, as used herein, is organic waste, food waste, or other biologically-derived waste) must be collected and processed efficiently as it is generated.
Feeding urban food waste (whether raw or processed) directly to livestock increases the risk of spreading food-borne pathogens and is not efficient in industrial animal farms. Food waste, especially post-consumer urban and domestic food waste, typically contains materials that are un-digestible or hazardous to animals (including plastic, paper, cutlery, spices, wax, etc.). Using food waste as fertilizer (whether raw or processed) only works in limited cases. Many types of food waste and food waste derivatives are rich in food preservatives (such as sodium and chloride) that are undesirable for plant growth. Raw or insufficiently mineralized food waste increases the risk of spreading microbial pathogens and of molding in soil with release of poisonous chemicals such as aflatoxins.
Citation or identification of any reference in Section 2, or in any other section of this application, shall not be considered an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention.